‘Terrorists burned everything, but not our faith,’ say Burkina Faso Christians after massacre

In an early October massacre, at least 150 people, including many Christians, were killed in northeastern Burkina Faso’s town of Manni, in what turned out to be a brutal terrorist rampage.

Days after the massacre, Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical charity working for the cause of persecuted Christians globally, learned that the attack had occurred Oct. 6. Manni is home to a large Catholic community, and many Christians, as well as Muslims, were killed in the massacre, ACN said on the organization’s website.

Sources told ACN that the terrorists first cut mobile phone networks before attacking the local market, where many people had gathered after Sunday Mass.

“They then opened fire indiscriminately, looted shops and set fire to several buildings, burning some victims alive. The same sources reported that the next day, the perpetrators returned to attack medical staff and kill the many wounded in the city’s hospital,” ACN said.

A new incursion took place two days later, when the terrorists again invaded the town of Manni, massacring all the men they could find.

Many of the victims were residents from nearby villages who had sought refuge in Manni after being driven out of their homes by terrorists.

“The situation is beyond horrific,” one of the local sources told ACN. “But even if the terrorists burned everything, they didn’t burn our faith!”

In an Oct. 9 message addressed to priests, consecrated persons and laity, Bishop Pierre Claver Malgo of Fada N’Gourma, described the attack as “barbaric” and expressed his “sincere compassion for all the bereaved families,” emphasizing that “any threat to the dignity of man and to his life must touch the very heart” of the Catholic Church.

The bishop also stressed the importance of not losing heart and keeping hope alive “for a better tomorrow.”

The attack in Manni comes amid a continuing deterioration of the security situation in Burkina Faso, where armed extremist groups have intensified their offensive, targeting both security forces and civilians.

For several years in a row, Burkina Faso has endured the highest level of extremist violence in the entire Sahel region. At the end of August, the country experienced the worst terrorist attack in its history in Barsalogho. Since then, estimates of those who were killed in the attack have risen to at least 400 dead, according to information gathered by ACN.

Pope Francis started the month of September by expressing deep sorrow over the August terrorist attack in the town of Barsalogho. In extending his condolences to the families of the victims, the pope said, “I condemn these horrific acts against human life and stand in solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso.”

Burkina Faso, dubbed “the world’s neglected crisis,” faces the reality of over 2 million people, or 10% of the population, internally displaced.

Burkina Faso regularly sees Christians persecuted and murdered, with ACN warning that “in only a decade, Burkina Faso has become an epicenter of terrorist violence, with over 40% of the country’s territory outside of government control.”

The Catholic Church there “is one of the institutions that provides material and spiritual support in this situation,” ACN said in its latest news release about Burkina Faso.

Over the past decade Burkina Faso has leapt from one crisis to another. Since 2021, churches have been targeted and scores of worshippers killed. In February of this year, at least 15 people were killed and two others injured following an attack on a Catholic church in the northeast of the country. The authorities have been battling Islamist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, which have taken over large swaths of land and displaced millions of people in the Sahel region.

Attacks have increased in recent months. At present, six of the 15 Catholic dioceses in the country are heavily affected by violence.

According to Open Doors, Burkina Faso is now the 20th worst country in the world to be a Christian, up from 33rd place a decade ago.

Maria Lozano, press director of ACN International, knows the country well. Having last visited in 2020, she has seen firsthand the methods used for recruitment.

“Terrorists manipulate and indoctrinate young Muslims,” she said. “They arrive in villages on motorcycles, gather the people, and instruct them not to go to school, not to obey authorities, and compel men to grow their beards and women to wear the Islamic veil.”

According to ACN sources, the terrorists are attempting to divide the population, which is otherwise known for its harmony between Muslims and Christians. “The Catholic Church is doing everything it can to maintain these good relations,” ACN said.

The world often turns a blind eye. The Norwegian Refugee Council said in June 2023 that “for the first time, Burkina Faso tops the list of the world’s most neglected displacement crises.”

“Neglect is a choice — that millions of displaced people are cast aside year after year without the support and resources they so desperately need is not inevitable,” said Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary general.

Several of ACN’s national offices have chosen to dedicate their Christmas campaign to this West African country “faced with the immense suffering and the significant needs of the Burkinabe population, which have been largely ignored by the international community,” the organization said.

Leo Morawiecki contributed to this report from London.

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